TWU Update - August 6, 2012

Volume 34, Number 13, August 6 - 19, 2012

TWU-DALLAS CENTER RECEIVES $452,532 NIH GRANT

Texas Woman’s University is one of only two universities in the nation to receive a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical/Biobehavioral Research Administration Development (BRAD) grant in 2012.

The $452,532 grant will be distributed over five years and will be used to develop and support a new Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the TWU T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas Center.

Dr. Elaine Trudelle-Jackson, TWU professor of physical therapy and principal investigator of the BRAD grant, says the new Dallas office will help increase the amount of interdisciplinary research at the TWU Dallas Center and encourage collaborative efforts with other medical researchers in the surrounding Southwestern Medical District community.

TWU’s new Dallas Center opened in 2011 and houses the Houston J. and Florence A. Doswell College of Nursing, the TWU Stroke Center-Dallas, the School of Occupational Therapy, the School of Physical Therapy and the university’s health systems management program in one location. Previously, the schools of occupational and physical therapy were located at the former TWU Presbyterian campus in North Dallas.

“Our location, cross-disciplinary offerings in health care and relationships with surrounding institutions such as U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, make TWU’s Dallas Center ideal to develop clinical research that ultimately will benefit the health of individuals and families in Texas and the nation,” Dr. Trudelle-Jackson said.

Dr. Trudelle-Jackson is assembling a steering committee to serve as an advisory board for guiding research efforts at the TWU Dallas Center. The committee will include a research administrator from each of TWU’s Denton, Dallas and Houston campuses, Dallas faculty researchers and stakeholders from the medical community, including practitioner and patient representatives. Dr. Perrie Adams, associate dean of research at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, will serve as a mentor for the new office of research in Dallas.

TWU RECEIVES $103,000 GRANT TO AID FORMER FOSTER CARE YOUTH

Texas Woman’s University will use a $103,000 grant from the TG Public Benefit Program to help former foster care youth succeed in higher education.

TWU will implement the Frontiers Program to address the special needs of TWU students who are “aging out” of the foster care system. According to Dr. Monica Mendez-Grant, associate vice president for student life and principal investigator of the grant, only 15 percent of the 1,500 youth who age out of Texas foster care each year go on to any type of higher education. Less than 3 percent of those who do will earn a four-year degree. Fewer than half of the youth are employed four years after leaving state care.

“TWU students who recently have aged out of the foster system don’t have the support system that most other students do,” Dr. Mendez-Grant said. “They often can’t afford all the books and technology they need for their classes, and they don’t have anyone at home to turn to for help. Many of them don’t even have a home.”

The Frontiers Program, set to begin in the 2012-13 school year, will provide specialized services including career development, leadership training and networking opportunities to 15 foster youth over the next three years. Financial support in the form of stipends will be offered to allow participants time for classes, studying and taking part in campus programs. Participants also will receive a laptop computer to increase their access to technology.

The goal of the program is to retain or graduate 50 percent of Frontiers Program participants each academic year.

“A number of foster care youth enroll at TWU each year,” Dr. Mendez-Grant said. “These students already have beaten the odds by applying and meeting the criteria to be accepted; however, even greater obstacles remain. The Frontiers Program will provide support and strategies to help them succeed as they transition into adulthood.”

For more information on the TWU Frontiers Program, contact Dr. Mendez-Grant or Susan Cruise at 81-3615.

TG is a public, non-profit corporation created by the Texas Legislature in 1979 to offer resources to help students and families plan and prepare for college. Since 2005, TG has awarded more than $34 million in grant funding through the TG Public Benefit Grant Program. For more information, visit www.tgslc.org/publicbenefit.

Under a new policy starting Sept. 1, TWU faculty, staff and students will no longer be able to use their IDs to ride the DCTA Connect buses for free. Students will be able to purchase reduced fare tickets exclusively at the Student Union. Faculty and staff will be required to pay the full fair, which is $1.50 each way. Taking the bus from the A-train station is not affected by this new policy, as an A-train ticket includes DCTA Connect Bus fare. The DCTA A-train University Pass also is not affected. The change is being implemented due to rising costs.

TWU’s residence life program is seeking volunteers for the annual Pioneer Welcome Day event. Participating faculty, staff and administrators will be available in the residence halls on Wed., Aug. 22 and Thurs., Aug. 23 to help students and their parents move in belongings, provide directions and serve refreshments. Special T-shirts are available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who participate. Volunteers are asked to sign up for a two-hour slot between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. To sign up, contact Eric Johnson at ejohnson7@twu.edu or in the University Housing office in 336 Jones Hall.

Get ready to bump, set and spike during the inaugural Student-Staff Volleyball Game, a new addition to Pioneer Camp. Any staff members interested in participating, or those who have questions, may contact Molly Moody at mmoody@twu.edu or 81-3616 before Wed., Aug. 15. The game will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 in Pioneer Hall.

The Pioneer Information Booth has adjusted its remaining summer hours. The booth will be open from 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Regular hours of operation (7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday) will resume Wed., Aug. 22. Departments that host an event outside of the reduced hours should contact the Student Union Office at x3641 in order to have staff scheduled accordingly.

Dr. JoAnn Engelbrecht (research & sponsored programs) retired effective Aug. 31 after more than 25 years with the university.

The ONF (Oncology Nursing Forum®) has published a dissertation article by Dr. Wyona Freysteinson (nursing, Houston), which was co-authored by Dr. Sandra Cesario (nursing, Houston). The article, titled “The experience of viewing self in the mirror after a mastectomy,” also was published as a podcast, journal club and open access article. For more information, visit http://ons.metapress.com/content/f6n515153671um52/ or http://www.ons.org/Publications/ONF/Features/Podcast.

Dr. Ellina Grigorieva (mathematics & computer science) attended the 9th AIMS (American Institute of Mathematical Sciences) international conference on dynamical systems, differential equations and applications, held June 30-July 5 in Orlando, Fla. Her paper was titled “Analytical methods in Optimal Control of HIV Treatment.” Professor Xin Lu, chair of the conference, invited her to submit a paper to the DCDS (B). Dr. Grigorieva also was the chair of a contributed session on control and optimization.

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